This application generally relates to communications and, more particularly, to prompting systems.
Prompting systems are very popular in today's communications environment. These prompting systems, such as an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, quickly direct a user to a particular department, extension, or information. These prompting systems may utilize advanced speech and voice recognition concepts to interpret responses. As users speak or otherwise enter their responses, advanced techniques are used to properly interpret those responses, despite differences in speech patterns, pronunciations, dialects, rhythm, and other differences. As software intelligence improves, prompting systems will continue to evolve to provide an efficient and less expensive method of resolving customer inquiries.
While prompting systems are great, prompting systems still have trouble understanding some responses. Despite improvements in voice recognition and in response interpretation, prompting systems still encounter responses that are not interpretable. Some responses, for example, are not understood or are incorrect. Whatever the causes, when a response is not interpretable, some prompting systems may ask for a repeat response. Other prompting systems may direct the user to an expensive human assistant. Still other prompting systems abruptly terminate the encounter. What is needed, however, is a prompting system that attempts to alternatively communicate with a user.